The Missing Link Robert Mueller Has Been Looking For May Have Been Found

The Missing Link Robert Mueller Has Been Looking For May Have Been Found

The Wall Street Journal has blown open the story on Republican operative Peter Smith and his role in the Trump-Russia election scandal. Smith was reportedly seeking to collect stolen Clinton emails so he could get them to Michael Flynn.

The Trump campaign has not denied the claims and even said “if Mr. Flynn coordinated with him in any way, it would have been in his capacity as a private individual.” This Smith-Flynn connection just may be the final piece of the puzzle that Robert Mueller is trying to solve. While the Russia meddling in the election has already been proven, the direct connection to the Trump campaign team is the intel we’ve all been looking for. Let’s not forget, Smith mysteriously died in recent weeks.

Peter Smith has deep ties to Trump and top Republicans that go way past Michael Flynn. Smith was a close friend and confident to Newt Gingrich who has also found his way into Trump’s inner circle. In a 1995 article in Crain’s Chicago Business their relationship was described as “[W]hen Peter W. Smith talks, Newt Gingrich listens.”

Smith had contributed more than $109,000 to Gingrich when that article was written and that was over 12 years ago. The same article said that Smith was “No. 1 financial backer of Mr. Gingrich, and one of the top 20 contributors nationwide.” This same Gingrich was one of Trump’s top advisers during his campaign, so why wouldn’t he bring his number one with him?

Smith also has ties to Brietbart which is run by Matt Boyle. It used to be run by Steve Bannon until he left to join Trump’s campaign and then the White House where he is a chief strategist. Smith’s emails were hacked and released which showed his connections to Boyle on an issue close to Bannon’s heart, outing House Speaker Ryan.

Smith also has a history of funding attacks on the Clinton’s. In the 1990’s Smith was behind “Troopergate” in which four officers who worked with Mr. Clinton said he had used them to procure women for sex. Smith admitted in 1998 that he had spent $80,000 to get negative information to the press about Clinton including paying those troopers and the initial reporter.

Smith always claimed to be acting independently, but his history suggests the connections are far deeper. He certainly has ties to several members of Trump’s inner circle and a long standing history with a desire to bring down the Clinton’s.

In his attempts to recruit others, Smith shared a document that listed some of Trump’s team by name, including Bannon and Conway. He clearly wasn’t operating alone.

Although it wasn’t initially clear to me how independent Smith’s operation was from Flynn or the Trump campaign, it was immediately apparent that Smith was both well connected within the top echelons of the campaign and he seemed to know both Lt. Gen. Flynn and his son well. Smith routinely talked about the goings on at the top of the Trump team, offering deep insights into the bizarre world at the top of the Trump campaign. Smith told of Flynn’s deep dislike of DNI Clapper, whom Flynn blamed for his dismissal by President Obama. Smith told of Flynn’s moves to position himself to become CIA Director under Trump, but also that Flynn had been persuaded that the Senate confirmation process would be prohibitively difficult. He would instead therefore become National Security Advisor should Trump win the election, Smith said.

Tait also explained how Smith set up a fake company to funnel his intel and money through to avoid the trail back to the campaign.

Smith died just after speaking with the Wall Street Journal, so all we have to go on other than his interview is Tait’s personal account.

Tait’s story lines up with the report from the WSJ and both are equally disturbing. Trump’s team has to know they’ve been caught red handed. They have all probably hired lawyers for their lawyers at this point. It’s only a matter of time before Robert Mueller begins making moves with this new intel.